Our PGA Newsletter is Fan-Manned by Golf Expert and LineStarApp volunteer CoachSzustak. Hope you enjoy it!

Farmers Insurance Open - Course Info

Welcome to the 3rd ed. of LineStar® Weekly Drive. Our goal here is to help you break down the upcoming PGA event. This is the Farmers Insurance Open. This is a part of the tours California swing, it is played on two different courses (Torrey Pines North and South Courses) with a cut coming after 36 holes. Golfers will play one round at each course, then the cut will be made and weekend play will be completed at the South Course.

According to the forecast they are calling for winds to be in double digits Thursday thru Saturday. The wind is only predicted @ 12 mph peak but given the smaller greens at the South course this could be an issue. The North course is by far the easier of the two, however only one round will be played there by each golfer. Torrey Pines is a more difficult course then has been played in previous weeks so (20 under) just isn’t happening this week. Now that that is out of the way let’s take a look at a few golfer’s who should be on your radar this week.

Keys To The Course

This section will be limited to courses where we have course history. We look at players who finished in the top 5 over recent history at PGA events played at the current course(s) and which common stats contributed to those top 5 players doing well.

Top 3 Stats For This Tournament:

1. Putting Average

2. GiR (Greens in Regulation)

3. Scrambling

Generally we'll be pulling top 10 players over the last month or two, but since so few players have played lately we'll be taking from all of the events played this season still.

• Rickie Fowler

• Jon Rahm

• Brian Harman

• Bud Cauley

• Lucas Glover

• Ryan Palmer

• Grayson Murray

• Jhonattan Vegas

• Adam Hadwin

• Tom Hoge

Studs

1. Brian Harman (11.3K FD/9.6K DK): I like him almost every week in his current form but given the price cut he is very intriguing this week. Yes there are bigger names in this field but I will continue to ride the hot streak in hope his stellar play to continue.

2. Jon Rahm (12.6K FD/11.8K DK): Vegas’ #1 guy again this week, he is coming off a nice win last week and has played well this season. He is putting well and is in the top 5 on tour in shots gained off the tee, an important stat this week at a more difficult course.

3. Rickie Fowler (12.1K FD/11.4K DK): His course and event history doesn’t stand out like others but it is hard to argue with the fact he is #1 in the field in scoring average. Over the month he is second in the field in driving % and fifth in the field in GIR. He is second in the field in scrambling and third in putting average, all the things you would want to see in one of your “studs”.

Mid-Price Value Plays

Bargain Barrel

Last week the bargain barrel delivered, Harkins turned out to be a gem and Hoge did what I hope for and played all weekend. This week I have another 3 that I hope will bring us continued success. 

1. Andrew Landry (8.3K FD/7.2K DK): He ranks 17th in the field in driving % and was red hot last week losing to Rahm in the playoff. He missed the cut in his only trip to Torrey Pines so I think people will be off him. Definitely a GPP play that I hope keeps his momentum from last week.

2. Kevin Streelman (8.6K FD/7.5K DK): He is 16th on tour in SG:off-the-tee, and 11th in SG:tee-to-green. I look for his 1.68 putts/hole to improve this week and for him to make some noise while playing the weekend.

3. Nick Watney (8.4K FD/6.8K DK): Last week he pulled his game together and found some success. He is definitely a risk this week as he missed the cut twice in his last 4 events, but he has won at Torrey Pines before and if he can get in a comfort zone early look out. Key to his success will be scrambling last week he did it well, in previous weeks he let bad shots snowball into bad holes. GPP risk reward play.

Avoids

It would not be a complete article if I didn’t tell you who I am avoiding. I like to go through and take guys out of the pool that I really don’t like THIS WEEK. Here are my 2 for this week.

• Phil Mickelson (10.4K FD/8.9K DK): Let me start by saying, I like Phil, I like to see Phil do well, I know this is the second week in a row that he makes this part of the newsletter. He is #194 on tour in SG:off-the-tee, that is an important category this week. Over his past 3 events he is < 40% on driving %, I know he is a magician with a wedge but at a course like this the driver is more important than the wedge.

• Hideki Matsuyama (12.2K FD/10.8K DK): He is another that I truly root for, but the numbers don’t lie. He is #88 on tour in SG:off-the-tee and #113 in the field in putting and driving % over the last month. He can hit the green on the approach in fact his GIR% is #2 in the field, but like Phil the driver is the club you want rolling in this event. His average finish is 90th in 4 trips to Torrey Pines and hasn’t made the top 10 yet, given his five figure price tag look elsewhere this week.

I hope you find some value in this article and as always, MAY YOUR LINEUPS BE LIVE AND SCREENS BE GREEN 🍀🍀🍀

How'd we do? Use the 👍/👎 to let us know...